“Weren’t there a bunch of German spies
in Mexico, stirring things up there against us, during
the war? Well, I’ll bet there are some of
the same breed there now making all this trouble for
Mr. Hampton,” said Frank.

“A good idea,” said Mr. Temple, approvingly.
“Well, boys, there will be no church for us
today. This matter has got to be attended to.”

CHAPTER VII

KIDNAPPED

“Not a trace, Bob. I don’t know what
to make of this.”

“Nor I, Frank. A fellow wouldn’t
believe that right here near New York, in the most
densely populated part of the East, two men could
steal an airplane and escape without a trace.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Bob. You remember
last winter when that aviator from the upper end of
Long Island was last seen flying across the Sound
toward the Connecticut shore and was never seen or
heard of again.”

“But, Frank, here forty-eight hours have passed.
Here we are, Tuesday morning. Dad has wired every
city, town and hamlet in the East. Not a sign
of the machine, nor of the men.”

It was, in truth, Tuesday morning. The morning
when, everything going as planned, they should have
been setting out on their flight to the Hampton camp
in New Mexico. Instead, the boys were moodily
pecking at breakfast, the airplane had disappeared,
and the trip seemed more and more remote.

To add to their worries, they had been unable to reopen
communication with their chum, Jack Hampton, by radiophone,
since that first and only time the previous Saturday
afternoon. All their efforts to call him met
with no response. The day before, moreover, a
telegram had been sent Mr. Hampton by Bob Temple’s
father, informing him in code of recent mysterious
occurrences, including the theft of the airplane,
telling him the boys had tried to call Jack by radiophone,
but without response from his powerful New Mexico
station, and asking whether all was well with him.
No answer had yet been received.

“Mister Robert,” said Mary, the maid,
entering the breakfast room, as the two boys sat in
moody silence, “your father wants you and Mister
Frank in the library.”

The boys hurried to the library at once, where they
found Mr. Temple, very grave of face, bent above a
lengthy telegram which he had just finished decoding.

“It’s from Jack,” he said, “And
the poor fellow is in a lot of trouble. Listen.”

He read:

“Dear Friends, Father has been kidnapped.
Two men in airplane carried him away into Old Mexico.
Since getting your telegram few minutes ago realize
it may have been your airplane. Wasn’t there
and didn’t see it but description of machine
given by cowboy on the range who saw it all tallies
with description of your machine.”